Two general objectives guide the ongoing research project: 1) to conduct a comprehensive national study of the mental health implications of ethnic identification, identity and consciousness among persons of Mexican origin; and 2) to develop a national resource by gathering from a national representative sample of 2500 Mexican origin households comprehensive data on other topics and making available the data from the survey to other scholars. A group of approximately 25 Chicano social scientists is advicing on and collaborating with the national study of Mexican origin persons, the first study to rely on a national rather than regional, state, or community samples. The general model that provides the framework for the substantive research treats ethnic identification, identity and consciousness as intervening variables that directly influence four sets of mental health outcomes (mental health status including personal efficacy and self-esteem, utilization of services, social mobility aspirations for self and children, and action in behalf of the group) and are themselves influenced by individual-community contextual determinants as well as mediating the influence of these variables on the mental health outcomes. Descriptive, analytic, and comparative objectives within the general model above will guide the present research.